Review: Doll Bones by Holly Black

Title: Doll Bones 

Author: Holly Black
Publisher:  Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publishing Date: May 7th 2013

Pages: 244
Genre:  MG Mystery

Series: Stand Alone
Source: Audio

  

        

Zach, Poppy and Alice have been friends for ever. They love playing with their action figure toys, imagining a magical world of adventure and heroism. But disaster strikes when, without warning, Zach’s father throws out all his toys, declaring he’s too old for them. Zach is furious, confused and embarrassed, deciding that the only way to cope is to stop playing . . . and stop being friends with Poppy and Alice. But one night the girls pay Zach a visit, and tell him about a series of mysterious occurrences. Poppy swears that she is now being haunted by a china doll – who claims that it is made from the ground-up bones of a murdered girl. They must return the doll to where the girl lived, and bury it. Otherwise the three children will be cursed for eternity . . .

I read the Curse Worker series and loved it and I have also read The Spiderwick Chronicles and very much enjoyed them. I decided to give Doll Bones a go. It sounds like a very creepy middle school book and the summary peaked my interest. It was a pretty good book. I was a bit disappointed with the creep factor… I was hoping for so much more in the chills department. I think I was probably asking a bit much for a middle school book and it probably has just the right amount of creepiness for the age group it is written for. I loved the writing style. Holly Black is an amazing writer. I liked the characters. I felt they were easy to connect to. I also liked the story. Again not quite what I expected but it was a fun story.

Three Children who are in middle school like to play with action figures. They love to make up their own stories and live them as they go with the dolls. They are each growing up and within in that revelation Poppy is very fearful they will grow apart, especially after Zach decides he doesn’t have time to play with the dolls anymore. Poppy gets really concerned and decides to break into a china cabinet and steal a very old china doll. Not soon after she starts to hear things and feels she is being spoken to by the doll. The three friends set on a mission to accomplish what the doll asks them too. Along the way the learn a bit about themselves, each other, and growing up.

The book was written with a mixture of supernatural, adventure,mystery and realistic fiction, so I guess it is a very adventurous, supernatural, coming of age mystery. I really thought this book would be more along the lines of a pretty creepy ghost story because any book that has a china doll haunting just has to be creepy. The book didn’t really hold creepy for me but it was still very entertaining. The book was short and quick and would be a great story read aloud to the older children. I really do enjoy Holly Black’s writing.

The story was more of a coming of age book for the middle school age. The time where every child wonders if it is time to put away the toys and hang out like a teenager. I really don’t think there is an answer or a time for this but I am sure every child goes through it. The story is also about friendship and loyalty , family issues, and of course an adventure. I did enjoy the friendship part of the story. It was a very realistic friendship with realistic issues. The three children grew up together and have played with dolls for a very long time. The imagination in this group of kids was just amazing. I loved the idea of sitting around and making up stories then acting them out. I mean isn’t this what live action role playing is except without dolls. Looking back on my childhood my friends and I were never this imaginative and now I feel like I really missed out on something great. I am sure these children were authors in the making. Their friendship was strong but was starting to struggle. Each of them were growing up at a different rate and going through some things individually. Zach’s father has returned after years of being gone. He walked out on his family and left them to fend for themselves a couple of years ago and now he decides he wants his family back. Zack is struggling with this and it is because of his father why he must stop playing with dolls. Alice is finding that boys are meant for more than just friends and seems to be experiencing her first crush and jealous feelings. Poppy is feeling alone, pushed out of the group. She just wants the three to them to stay close and have nothing change. All these problems are very real problems that kids this age struggle with and they were dealt with realistically…. Well except for the adventure part. The adventure the three set out on was fun. I loved listening to them figure out the clues and where to go next. They worked together very well and found ways around the issues at hand… like a closed library…. It was exciting to see where the adventure would take us next and how the story of the china doll would end.

The characters were very relatable. Zach was my favorite but I think only because the story is told from his point of view. I really felt for him and his struggle with his home life. His father could be a real Meany at times. I wanted to hug Zach and slap his father. There is a lot of growth with Zach and his father, separately and together. Their story was the story I felt the most. Poppy was a brat at times, but knowing how she felt in the end made her actions understandable. Alice was the quiet one and I connected with her the least. I did like her. She seemed to most put together for me. She had a real sense of responsibility and wanted to make the right choices, even though she always seemed to cave in.

There was a bunch of good in this book and it was put together and written seamlessly.

Good story but I do wish there would have been a bit more creep. If you are looking for a creepy story pick up another book, but if you are looking for a bit of an adventure and a great coming of age book…. this one is good.

Review: The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington

Title: The Dead and Buried 

Author: Kim Harrington
Publisher:  Scholastic Point
Publishing Date: January 1st 2013

Pages: 304
Genre:  YA Supernatural Mystery 

Series: Stand Alone
Source: Paperback ARC 

  

A haunted house, a buried mystery, and a very angry ghost make this one unforgettable thriller.

Jade loves the house she's just moved into with her family. She doesn't even mind being the new girl at the high school: It's a fresh start, and there's that one guy with the dreamy blue eyes. . . . But then things begin happening. Strange, otherworldly things. Jade's little brother claims to see a glimmering girl in his room. Jade's jewelry gets moved around, as if by an invisible hand. Kids at school whisper behind her back like they know something she doesn't.

Soon, Jade must face an impossible fact: that her perfect house is haunted. Haunted by a ghost who's seeking not just vengeance, but the truth. The ghost of a girl who ruled Jade's school — until her untimely death last year. It's up to Jade to put the pieces together before her own life is at stake. As Jade investigates the mystery, she discovers that her new friends in town have more than a few deep, dark secrets. But is one of them a murderer?

I love a good mystery and I love a good ghost story. This book had both. The book wasn’t quite as creepy as I would have liked but it was enough to keep my mind thinking and turning. The mystery was a good one for sure. It had me guessing all the way until the last couple of chapters. I did figure it out before Jade did but I am sure the book was meant to lead me there. The book was very fast paced and exciting. Never a dull moment for me.

Jade lost her mother as a young girl and shortly after her father remarried and shortly after that they had a baby boy. Jade has a new family. She loves her father, tolerates her step mother, and cherishes her little brother. Everything seems to be going as it should when her father decides to move them to a new town, bigger house, and a busier high school. Shortly after moving in, Jade finds out her house is haunted by a mean girl from the high school she is now attending. The ghost is mad, someone murdered her and she wants to know who. Now Jade must live the ghost’s past life to uncover the secrets behind her death before the ghost seeks havoc on Jade’s family.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s a very short read that kept my attention through the entire book. Although it was a quick and easy read, I didn’t feel like anything was missing or rushed as I do many short books. I liked the story line and the characters and it was easy for me to get wrapped up in the mystery as well as the high school drama. I did enjoy the high school drama, the romance, the family issues… but the mystery is what really held me to the book. I just had to know who did it.

The mystery was written well in my opinion. I admit I am not the best at figuring it out and I am easily entertained by mysteries. They always get me, but this one really had my mind going in circles. I really thought I had it figured out like 4 times. In the end I got it… right before Jade did. So I am not sure how much that counts. I am pretty sure I got it at the time the author wanted me to.  Anyways, it was fun, creepy, and very puzzling. Just like I like them.

The characters were fun too. I liked them and they were far from flat, I didn’t get as attached as I normally do but I think it was due to being so focused on the mystery. I can say that I did fall a bit for Donovan, and Colby stole my heart.

Jade was a good character. She lost her mother when she was very young and not long after that, her father remarried. She wasn’t ready for a replacement mother or a new family but in a few short years she got both. Not longer after her father remarried, Colby, a new little brother arrived. Jade isn’t so close to her stepmother but she loves Colby. I enjoyed watching the relationship between the 5 year old and Jade. She was very protective over him, sweet, caring. It was wonderful to see. Jade didn’t believe in ghosts and when she heard her brother talking about some girl in the house, she had a hard time believing him until she learned of the death in the house. The only moment that Jade really bothered me was when she had a fit about not being told the house had a death possibly a murder. I know that it would be creepy to live in a house with that kind of past, but I felt that she could have understood why her father and step mother did not disclose this info to her.
I also enjoyed the relationship between Jade and Donovan. I really liked Donovan. He didn’t quite steel my heart like Colby, but he was definitely swoon worthy. Sweet and brooding, a loner. The way he treated Jade and handled others was amazing to me. He has been through some tough times and he let it shape him instead of define him. He was a great love interest for Jade, they balanced each other out and worked well together.
The book really is full of great stuff and I am thrilled I read it. It was a very fast paced read and I had a very hard time putting it down. A book I couldn’t stop thinking about when I couldn’t read it.

If you like contemporary romance, ghosts, and a good mystery, pick this book up. I am sure you will enjoy it.

Blog Tour: The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett- Review and Giveaway

Tour Hosted by Itching for Books : Schedule

Title: The Nightmare Affair

Author: Mindee Arnett

Publisher: Tor Teen

Publishing Date: March 5th 2013

Pages: 367

Genre: YA Supernatural Mystery

Series: The Arkwell Academy #1

Source: Kindle version provided by Itching for Books 

             Book Depository

          

Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare.

Literally.

Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy, is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder.

Then Eli’s dream comes true.

Now Dusty has to follow the clues—both within Eli’s dreams and out of them—to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target.

The synopsis of this book drew me in right away. I was very happy and intrigued to see a paranormal book that is new and different. The cover is kind of creepy too and it goes well with the story. I was so very excited to read this book for the tour. I loved it! It was exciting, different, mysterious, and creep. Everything I hoped would be there was there.

Dusty is half nightmare and half human. A real life living Nightmare. In the world where Dusty lives there are 3 types of magic kind, Naturekind, Witchkind, and Darkkind. She falls under the Darkkind. She has to feed off of other's dreams. She goes to school at a magickind academy to learn to control her magical powers which recently came about.  During one if Dusty's dream feeds she witnesses a death and comes to find out it actually happened a murder. Now Dusty and a really cute  human boy have to investigate to find the murder before more happen.

The world that the author created for this book was just magnificent and so very creative. I love the idea of a Nightmare being a creature. The way that it was created and explained made perfect sense to me and fit well into the paranormal world of werewolves, witches, and vampires. I also enjoyed the other elements of the world Dusty lives. It was bunches of fun to see the world of fairies, witches, and more. They all live together, go to school together, and work together. They all have their own places in this magical world.

The plot had all the elements needed for a great mystery and I was able to play the whodonit game   without figuring it out. I love it when it that happens. The mystery, the red herrings, the thrills and the chills were all there. 

I liked the characters too. Dusty is fun. She is smart, snarky, and kind of geeky. Half kinds aren't accepted in the academy by other students but Dusty gets along ok. She is a normal teenage girl, boy crazy and dumb at times. I liked following her deductive skills in solving the murders. Eli was pretty cool. He was clueless to the world around him and it took him a bit to come around but he eventually did and I ended up falling for him.

The story is paced very well, wonderful writing, and just so much fun. It reads like a  classic murder mystery with lots of magical and fantasy elements.

I really fell for this book and can't wait to read more of this wonderful world. If you like mysteries and you like fantasy, you should give this book a try.

Mindee Arnett lives on a horse farm in Ohio with her husband, two kids, a couple of dogs, and an inappropriate number of cats. She’s addicted to jumping horses and telling tales of magic, the macabre, and outer space. She has far more dreams than nightmares.

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